So as I was moving to my next class the other day, I realized that I had some how managed to forget to do the one thing that English majors are know for doing: I forgot to read. Oh, I didn't forget to read for classes or anything. I always do that. But I rallied that I couldn't remember a time that I decided to sit down with a book just for the fun of it. As some one who used to go through on average about five novels a week, I found it really scary that I couldn't remember the last time that reading wasn't a complete chore. Of course, I decided that, since I was graduating in a mouth, that now would be the perfect time to try and get back In to the habit, but I found it suddenly difficult to choose what to read. So, I did a little research, and fount the top ten books that would be great to read for those in the same position as me. Though, you don't have to be an extreme literature lover to want to read these. What's great about these books is that they really appeal to college students and grads. Some of them I've read while others I've only hear about, but with this mix of fiction and non-fiction, all of them have something to offer you.

1. A Room Of One's Own by Virginia Woolf

An interesting first choice but, in my mind, one that is very important. A Room of Ones Own, published in October of 1929, is an extended essay written by Virginia Woolf. The book is actually an extended essay based on lecture she gave at Newman College the previous year. While this book is in fact an essay, therefore traditionally non-fiction, it is unique in the sense that it chooses to employ a fictional narrator. It explains the role of women as both writers and characters in other books so is usually classified as a feminist text. Though I consider this important because the book chooses to explore the idea of transition.

2. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

This novel is simply delightful as Bryson explains to his audience his take on some of the oldest questions of the universe and civilization. Its an interesting book and one that I actually recommend for all those liberal arts majors who may need a bit of a refresher into some of the more scientific subjects. Bryson' s work possesses a much-needed feel of humor to some otherwise serious subjects.

3. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

This book is not one that i have have actually read but was in fact recommended to me by a friend. David Sedaris uses his text and goes about undertaking the experience of learning another language. The text is hardly boring however, as Sedaris' delightful and compelling language leaves the reader mesmerized and entertained by his experiences. Through colorful narratives, Sedaris manages to make the experience of learning a language fun even when you're not learning a language yourself.

4. Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ok, so this book started out on this list as just a joke. It's the book that almost everyone had to read in high school or college at some point. Honestly, I wasn't entirely sure about keeping it on this list. However I do think that is very important to get this book or read sometime at the end of your college career. The book encapsulates Jay Gatsby's inherent struggle with the American dream through the eyes of Nick Caraway. Strip away all of the school time metaphors and over thought analysis and you have a book that is near perfect, as the plot is designed specifically for those who are starting to make their way in our society. Ask yourself, what type of person do you want to become? And to what ends?

5. Adulting: How to Become a Grown UP in 468 Easy(ish) Steps by Kelly Williams Brown

Again, not a book that I have read but was recommended to me. This book by Kelly Williams Brown is perfect if you need those hints as to how to transition from a college student to an adult in the working world. Mostly filled with tips and hints for your daily life, some may seem like common sense to some but when you actually break it down and think about it I think you may have no idea how to actually do.

6. The Last Lecture by Randy Paunch

This is a title that I came across quite by accident. The last lecture is literally a lecture given by Randy Pausch at Carnegie Mellon on September 18, 2007. Before the lecture Pausch was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that was terminal. Who he compiled the last lecture to be delivered to the students at Carnegie Mellon of that year. The book includes the story of post-childhood life, as well as incite into the process of achieving your childhood dreams. It is a truly powerful text one that I believe would have quite an impact on anyone reading it when leaving college.

7. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

This 1926 novel written by Ernest Hemingway has been referred to as one of his best works. The Sun Also Rises, referring to the lost generation in the aftermath of World War I, follows a series of American and British expatriates who travel from Paris to watch the running of the bulls. The story is, in a lot of ways, a love story but also deals death and the enduring nature of the scarred generation. It's an interesting book for millennial's to take a look at if only to draw parallels between our generation and the "lost generation".

8. Lolita by Vladamir Nobokov

This book is quite different then the other books recommended on this list. For those who don't know the basics about his plot I will warn you that it is in a lot of ways graphic. Still, however controversial it is also included on Time Magazine's list of the Top 100 Best English-language novels to have been published between 20th century in the early 21st-century. While tragic, the tone the book is written is often comedic therefore creating a interesting narrative style that I believe will have you both loving and hating this book. It is often described as an erotic novel and is extremely dark in tone, so it's not for the faint. To quote TIME Magazine "their story is as vile an obscene as one can imagine, but Humbert's voice, an extremely inventive stream of angry, cosmopolitan invective, elevates to the level of a tragic, twisted epic".

9. A Long Way Gone: Memories of A Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

A Long Way Gone is a story that i actually first read while in high school. However this is one more that has actually stayed with me throughout my college experience. It is a true story of the other bed in his experiences as a child of 13 in a governmental army. While this is a true story, Beah's telling of the story, which goes back-and-forth between realistic narrative and dreamlike drug-induced is hallucination, transports the reader into an entirely new world one of fear redemption and hope. It's an incredible read and has the added bonus of reminding us that our own troubles are the only ones that exist within the world.

10. Quiet: The Power of Introverts In A World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

This book by Susan Cain is such an incredibly powerful to me as an Introvert. Cain seeks to argue the value of introverts with in today's society. If you are an introvert you benefit from this book immensely if only because it serves reminder that you're not quite alone you're think when your seemingly surrounded by more out going people. If your not, then the book helps you to gain insight into what is essentially one third of the population of the world. Cain also gives a Ted talk on the idea of the power of introverts so after reading this book why not give it a try.